Safety-pin.



A. WRIGHT.

SAFETY PIN. APPLICATION FILED MAR. 23. I912.

1,214,633. Patented Feb. 6,1917.

ARTHUR WRIGHT, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

SAFETY-PIN.

rail nines.

Application filed March 23, 1912.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, AirnUn WRIGHT, of New York, in the county of NewYork and in the State of New York, have invented a certain new anduseful Improvement in Safety-Pins, and do hereby declare that thefollowing is a full, clear, and exact description thereof.

My invention relates particularly to safety pins which are soconstructed as to be pro vided with a head to engage and protect thepoint of the pin.

The familiar type of safety pin which is in general use is soconstructed that the pin may be closed by grasping the pointed end ofthe sharpened prong with one finger and the head which is attached tothe other prong by means of the other finger. The end of the pointedprong may in this manner be inserted in the head on either side thereof.In order to release the pointed prong from the head, it is necessary toinsert the linger beneath the head and push the goods back, away fromthe head until the finger underlies the sharpened prong between the headand the goods which is carried by the sharpened prong. A finger beingnow applied to the other prong, a pressure on the sharpened prong willelevate the sharpened prong so as to cause it to be released from thehead. This operation of opening the safety pin is often very pain ful.inasmuch as the goods are very often tightly gathered on the pointedprong, and

i as a considerable amount of force is required to push the goods backaway from the head which engages the pointed prong. Furthermore, ininserting the finger below the head to push the goods back, it isnecessary to in- 1 sort the linger in a very small and awkward spacewhich adds to the discomfort. Again, when the releasing operation isbeing effected by pressing the sharpened prong upwardly so as to releaseit from the head, it frequently happens that the finger becomes woundedby the sharpened end of the prong. A further disadvantage of this typeof pin lies in the fact that the sharpened prong may be at any timereleased from the head by a slight pressure merely reversing theoperation which is carried out in closing the pin.

The object of my invention is to provide a safety pin which is soconstructed that the safety pin may be readily opened by operating thepin from the upper part, that is to Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 6, 1917.

Serial No. 685,649.

say, the part or prong which does not engage with the goods, and withoutany danger of injury to the fingers. Another object of my invention isto provide a safety pin which is so constructed that when the pointedend of the pin engages with the head, the pointed end is effectivelylocked in position so as to prevent an accidental or unintended releaseof the pointed end from the head.

till a further object of my invention is to provide a safety pinoperating in the manner described, but which is so arranged that theoperations above referred to can be carried out without the necessity ofresetting any of the parts prior to engagement of the head with thepointed prong. Furthermore, by means of my invention, I avoid all of thedisadvantages vabove referred to as being present in the safety pin ofthe usual type.

My present invention constitutes an improvement upon the invention setforth in my patent upon a safety pin, No. 1,019,578, granted March 5th,1912.

Although my invention is capable of embodiment in many different forms,for the purpose of illustration 1 have shown it as embodied in twodifferent modifications, and as illustrating the same-Figure 1 is a sideeleration of one modification of my invention showing the safetypin inits closed position, Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same showing theparts in the position in which the pointed end of the prong has justbeen released from the head; Fig. 3 is a similar view of the sameshowing the position of the parts when the head has been automaticallyreset; Fig. is a vertical section of the head used in the modificationalready described, taken on line 4-4- of Fig. 5; Fig. 5 is a verticaltransverse cross-section of the same modification; Fig. 6 is a sideelevation of another modification of my invention showing the pointedprong released from the head; Fig. 7 is a horizontal section taken online 77 of Fig. 6; and Fig. 8 is a side elevation of the end of theprong.

In Figs. 1 to 5, I have provided a bent wire 1 having a coil 2 in themiddle thereof, on one side of which there is a sharpened prong 3 and onthe other side of which there is a bent prong 4: which engages with ahead 5. The bent prong 4 has at its extreme end a downwardly directedportion 6 and an upwardly bent portion 7, the upwardly bent portion 7being substantially parallel, though not necessarily so, with thedownwardly bent portion 6, the upwardly bent portion 7 ending in abaclnvardly bent portion 8 which is substantially parallel with the mainbody of the prong 4. The prong t carries a coiled spring 9, one end ofwhich rests in the slot between the downwardly and upwardly bentportions (3 and 7 of the prong, while the other end of the spring restsagainst a concave washer 10, fitting over the prong 1.

The head of the pin comprises a barrel portion 11 and a shield portion12, the latter being designed to receive the pointed end of the prong 3and being provided at each side with an angularly shaped, inwardlydirectedtongue 13 which prevents the removal of the pin and prevents theaccidental movement of the pointed end of the prong 3 from said shield.The barrel portion 11 of the head 5 is constructed at its lower end andat either side with a transversely directed flange 14: extending fromone end of the barrel portion to the other, and being inclined upwardlyas shown in Fig. 1. The upper end 15 of the upper flange 1 1 acts as astop or abutment cooperating with the upwardly directed bent portion 7of the prong at in the closed position of the pin, the portion of theprong which lies between the upwardly and backwardly bent portions 7 and8 lying directly against the abutment 15. At the wider end of thebarrel, said barrel is provided with a second abutment in the form of aninwardly directed flange 16 surrounding the same, the purpose of whichis to receive the convex face of the washer 10 and thereby control themovement of the spring 9. It will be noted that the end of the barrel 11which carries the flange 16 is inclined rearward-1y, that is to say, atan angle to the upper edge of the barrel portion of the head, for apurpose which will be described hereinafter. The shield portion 12 mayhave at either side thereof an inwardly and downwardly directed tongue13 to lock the pointed prong in position.

In the operation of the safety pin, in the closed position of the pinthe parts are located in the position shown in Fig. 1, with the upwardlyand backwardly bent portions 7 and 8 engaging with the stop or abutment15 in the barrel'of the head 5, and with the main body of the prong 1resting against the upper edge of the interior of the barrel portion 11.Inthis position, that is tosay, the closed position of the pin, thepointed prong 3 cannot be accidentally released by a movement upwardlyand over the edge of the shield 12, because of the presence of thetongues 13, one of which is situated at either side of the pin. Thepointed prong is, consequently, locked in position once that the pin hasbeen closed. In order to open the pin it is merely necessary to graspthe head between the thumb and forefinger and move the inner end thereofupwardly in the direction of the arrow shown in Fig. 1. The movement ofthe head in this direction releases the upwardly bent portion 7 fromengagement with the stop or abutment 15 and when so released the head 5may be pulled longitudinally away from the wire portion of the pin inopposition to the force of the spring 9 until the pointed end of theprong 3 is released from the shield 12. The position of the parts whenthe pin has been released in this manner is shown in Fig. 2. Uponreleasing the grasp upon the head, the spring 9 will immediately movethe head back into its initial position by first moving the bent portion7 to the end of the barrel portion 11 over the stop or abutment 15, andby finally moving the prong upwardly until it rests against the upperedge of the barrel 11. The latter portion of the movement is effected byreason of the inclined position of the flange 16, inasmuch as it will beseen that the spring is in a more extended position when the prong aisadjacent to the upper edge of the barrel portion 11 than when below thesame. When the head has been thus reset, the parts are in the positionshown in Fig. 3, and in order to close the pin it is now merelynecessary to insert the pointed end of the prong 3 over either side ofthe shield 12.

In Figs. 6 to 8, I have shown another modification of my invention inwhich the spring and the washer for limiting the movement of the sameare omitted, and in which there are only two parts to the pin, that isto say, a head 17 and a bent wire 18 having a coil 19 in the middlethereof,

said bent wire being provided with a sharpened prong 20, and at theother side of the coil with :1 prong 21 for engaging the head. The prong21 has at its end a downwardly bent portion 22, 23, and a rearwardly andlaterally bent por tion 24. The head 17 comprises a shield 25 and abarrel portion 27. The barrel portion 27 has at each side thereof aninwardly directed flange 28, said flanges 28 being inclined upwardly asshown in the drawings. The upper end of the upper flange 28 constitutesa stop or abutment for the upwardly bent portion 23 of the prong 21. Thelarger end of the barrel portion 27 has at one side thereof a flange 29to act as a stop for engagement with the laterally bent portion 24. Thismodification of my invention operates in the same manner as themodification previously described, except that after the release of thehead from the sharpened prong 20 it is necessary to reset the head uponthe prong 21 before the ,pin is closed, and except that the longitudinalmovement of the head on the prong 21 is limited by an upwardly bentportion 1 the laterally bent portion 24 instead of being limited by thepresence of the spring and washer previously described.

"While I have described my invention above in detail it is to beunderstood that many changes maybe made therein without departing fromthe spirit of my invention as set forth in the claims.

I claim:

1. 'In a safety pin, a head having an abutment, a. sharpened prong, asecond prong connected thereto and having an offset portion engagingwith the abutment in the plane of the prongs and releasable fromengagement therewith to release the sharpened prong by a movement of theprongs in said plane, said abutment being located between the twoprongs.

2. In a safety pin, a head having an abutment in the interior of thehead, between the two sides thereof, a sharpened prong, a second prongconnected thereto and having an offset portion engaging with theabutment in the plane of the prongs and releasable from engagementtherewith to release the sharpened prong by a movement of the prongs insaid plane.

3. In a safety pin, a head having an abutment in the interior of thehead, a sharpened prong, a second prong connected thereto and having anoffset portion engaging with the abutment in the plane of the prongs andreleasable therefrom to release the sharpened prong by a movement of theprongs in said plane, said abutment being located between the twoprongs.

4. In a safety pin, a head having an abutment in the interior of thehead between the two sides thereof, a sharpened prong, a second prongconnected thereto and having an offset portion engaging with theabutment in the plane of the prongs and releasable from engagementtherewith to release the sharpened prong by a movement of the prongs insaid plane, and said head having a second abutment preventing theseparation of the prong from the head.

5. In a safety pin, a head having an abutment in the interior of thehead, a sharpened prong, a second prong connected thereto and having anoffset portion engaging with the abutment in the plane of the prongs andreleasable therefrom to release the sharpened prong by a movement of theprongs in said plane, said abutment being located between the twoprongs, and said head having a second abutment preventing the separationof the prong from the head.

6. In a safety pin, a head having an abutment, a sharpened prong, asecond prong connected thereto and engaging with said abutment, tonormally prevent longitudinal movement of the prongs with regard to thehead so as to prevent the release of the sharpened prong from the head,said head being movable longitudinally of the prongs to release thesharpened prong from the head and means for returning the head to itsoriginal position when the sharpened prong has been released by saidmovement.

7. In a safety pin, a head having an abutment, a sharpened prong, a scond prong connected thereto and engaging with said abutment, tonormally prevent longitudinal movement of the prongs with regard to thehead so as to prevent the release of the sharpened prong from the head,said head being movable longitudinally of the prongs to release thesharpened prong from the head and means for returning the head to itsoriginal position when the sharpened prong has been released by saidmovement, comprising a spring.

8. In a safety pin, a head having an abutment, a sharpened prong, asecond prong connected thereto and engaging with said abutment, tonormally prevent longitudinal movement of the prongs with regard to thehead so as to prevent the release of the sharpened irong from the head,said head being movable longitudinally of the prongs to release thesharpened pron'g from the head and means for returning the head to itsoriginal position when the sharpened prong has been released by saidmovement, comprising a spring surrounding said second prong.

9. In a safety pin, a head having an abutment, a sharpened prong, asecond prong connected thereto and engaging with said abutment, tonormally prevent longitudinal movement of the prongs with regard to thehead so as to prevent the release of the sharpened prong from the head,said head being movable longitudinally of the prongs to release thesharpened prong from the head and means for returning the head to itsoriginal position when the sharpened prong has been released by saidmovement,

comprising a spring surrounding said second prong, said second pronghaving a stop to limit the movement of the spring in one direction;

10. In a safety pin, a head having an abutment, a sharpened prong, asecond prong connected thereto and engaging with said abutment tonormally prevent longitudinal movement of the prongs with regard to thehead so as to prevent the release of the sharpened prong from the head,said head being movable longitudinally of the prongs to release thesharpened prong from the head, means for returning the head to itsoriginal position when the sharpened prong has been releasedby saidmovement, comprising a spring surrounding said second prong, said secondprong having a stop to limit the movement of the spring in onedirection, and a Washer for limiting its movement in the otherdirection.

11. 111 a safety pin, a head having an abutment near one end and asecond abutment near the other, a sharpened prong, a

second prong connected thereto and engaging with said abutment, tonormally prevent longitudinal movement of the prongs with regard to thehead so as to prevent the release of the sha 'pened prong from the head,said head being movable longitudinally of the prongs to release thesharpened prong from the head, means for returning the head to itsoriginal position when the sharpened prong has been released by saidmovement, comprising a spring surrounding said second prong, said secondprong having a stop to limit the movement of the spring in onedirection, and a washer for limiting its movement in the otherdirection, said washer engaging with said second abutment.

12. In a safety pin, av head having an abutment near one end and aflange-abutment near the other, a sharpened prong, a second prongconnected thereto and being located in engagement with said abutment,

to normally prevent longitudinal movement of the prongs with regard tothe head so as to prevent the release of the sharpened prong from thehead, said head being movable longitudinally of the prongs to releasethe sharpened prong from the head, means for returning the head to itsoriginal position when the sharpened prong has been 'released by saidmovement, comprising a.

spring surrounding said second prong, said second prong having a stop tolimit the movement of the spring in one direction, and a washer forlimiting its movement in the other direction, said washer engaging withsaid flange-abutment, and adapted to slide over the same when the secondprong is being released from the other abutment.

13. In a safety pin, a head having an abutment near one end and aninclined fiangeabutment near the other, a sharpened prong, a. secondprong connected thereto and engaging with said abutment, said head beingmovable longitudinally of the prongs to release the sharpened prong fromthe head, means for returning the head to its original position whenthe'sharpened prong has been released by said movement, comprising aspring surrounding said second prong, said second prong having a stop tolimit the movement of the spring in one direction, and a washer forlimiting its movement in the other direction, said washer engaging withsaid inclined flange-abutment and adapted to slide over the same whenthe located between the two prongs and said head having a secondabutment preventing the separation of the prong upon the head. In asafety pin, a head having an abutment in the interior of the headbetween the two sides thereof, a sharpened prong, a second prongconnected thereto and having an oi'fset portion engaging with theabutment in the plane of the prongs and releasable from engagementtherewithby a movement of the prongs in said plane, said abutment beinglocated between the two prongs and said head having at its rear edge asecond abutment preventing the separation of the prong from the head. rIn testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand.

ARTHUR WVRIGHT. Vitnesses Lrsnr'rn BRODERICK, J. FREUDENVOLL.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for-five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G.

